


are you bit?

by italiandressing69



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 5SOS - Freeform, 5sos alternate universe, Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Bottom Luke Hemmings, BoyxBoy, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Gay, Jealous, Lashton - Freeform, M/M, Oral Sex, Sex, Smut, Top Ashton Irwin, Violent, Walkers (Walking Dead), Zombie, Zombie Apocalypse, angry smut, five sauce, five seconds of summer - Freeform, jealous smut, vulgar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:00:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29519157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/italiandressing69/pseuds/italiandressing69
Summary: disasters can release the true monster in all of us, even when monsters are what you’re supposed to fight. but even in the midst of the bubbling end of the world, a love manages to bloom. the true question is not if the love is matched and passionate, but if it’s enough. enough to keep two men sane and apart from the undead corpses, or will they lose themselves in the process of regaining their humanity? faded to the point they’re no different from the gnarly undead vicious corpses trying to chew them up, merely alive?
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin, Rick Grimes/Michonne, Sierra Deaton/Luke Hemmings, luke hemmings/ spencer monroe
Kudos: 4





	1. sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> bare through the first few chapters i promise you’ll get what you came for ! btw this is italiandressing69 from wattpad, you can find the same story and chapters on there. this is my backup in case it gets deleted.

luke just wanted to feel anything again, his biggest desire being reverting back to normalcy. he missed his privileges of going outside without worries and seeing people on the daily. now he could only sit cooped up in his room reminiscing of a light breeze and the warmth of the sun. how good it felt to breathe fresh air and soak his feet in the shallow staircase of his pool. at the peak of his boredom, he would even miss school.

for what he estimated was four months, he hadn't been allowed to even as much as take a glimpse of the outside world, much less go outside. his parents and older brothers explained that the world was in a difficult position right now but that soon they'd be alright. someone would save them. luke thought their answers and hope was bullshit. he had somewhat of an idea of what had been going on, but everyone in his household seemed to forbid the mention of the creatures outside.

it was plain and simple, they were zombies. luke knew no other fitting word. they were undead creatures looking to tear apart any living person or animal they came across. it looked like all the comics and movies had caught up with reality. the con of life imitating art.

luke didn't really know the gravity of the situation. he knew the basics but had never come face to face with one of the creatures himself, not even through a window. his family would die before letting his innocence expire.

luke, however, does remember one of the last news station broadcasts before the cable was disabled for good. a woman with distressed hair and clothing screamed into the camera warning about dangerous people. she cried about how they ripped her newborn and toddler to shreds and that you should do absolutely everything in your power to avoid them.

that final airing kept luke awake for weeks knowing that that woman was probably now a zombie feasting on human scraps.

luke's mother still attempted to lull luke to sleep with old family stories and memories, even though she knew he knew. they all pretended everything was okay, even though every single one of them knew that was a lie.

luke was annoyed at that. he was annoyed how he was left in the dark practically defenseless. if one day his dad or brothers were to die on a supply run he'd have no idea how to protect his mom or himself.

there were so many things that could go wrong if luke stayed uninformed and weak.

but no, his family would die before ever seeing luke in harm's way. he should've been grateful, but instead he just wished the universe or whatever selfish entity that allowed an apocalypse to take over the world would speed up the inevitable instead of letting him sit in his room and wait for his death.


	2. happy birthday

ben and jack had been mapping out their plan for scavenging their local town shops. both of the men wore gun holsters firmly around their waists in case they received either dead or living company on their trip. you would expect a crisis to unite humans, but it did the exact opposite. no one had accepted their offer to survive through the apocalypse together, in fact someone robbed them of their supplies when they asked. that would never happen again. they would make sure of it.

there was no more being nice to your neighbors if it meant they had food you didn't.

"we could try searching for calendars.. you know for next year?," jack offered his worrisome mother. she shook his head at the idea of his son going outside for unnecessary reasons. "you aren't going to risk your life for paper jack, i'll get luke to dust off an old whiteboard from the attic later."

however, jack continued to insist, "it's okay mom we were going to go out for a run anyways, it's really no problem." jack's other brother overheard and joined in on the conversation, "yeah mom we can get one and maybe even a present for luke if we go now."

her stomach churned and her mouth continued to frown. she tried to pull together a smile but every attempt fell short. "has the food really begun to run out again already?"

jack avoided meeting her gaze and nodded his head, a movement later repeated by the other brother. he bit his lip at the memory of their last supply run. he remembered seeing the market fruit stands either empty or crawling with bugs. supplies, especially food, were becoming incredibly scarce. places like donation centers however were gold mines, if you didn't mind risking your life for canned items. none of the men had told their mother or luke about that though, as they were seen as the ones that needed to be shielded from the world. jack hadn't even noticed how hard he was biting and that his lip began to bleed until his mother asked, "jack are you okay?"

he built up a little smile, "i'm all good."

his mother frowned a little at his lie but nevertheless moved on. she filled little bowls equally with some of the last vegetables they had. ben set the table and jack brought the food to each seat. "luke honey come down and have dinner with us."

luke's door remained closed. he stayed put in his room. they waited for minutes until his mother grew inpatient. "jack do me a favor love and bring your brother down."

he frowned and tried to share his opinions, "if he doesn't want to come down then maybe he shouldn't. we're running low on food anyways and mom you could use it more than he does."

the mom scoffed at what he suggested, "of course not. now go and get your brother." her voice became scarily stern and commanding. in her eyes, luke was still the family baby, and that's all she wanted him to ever be. she needed to cling onto some idea of innocence and the future, and luke was that for her.

jack swallowed and pushed aside his ego getting up from the table awkwardly. he walked up the stairs to luke's room and knocked loudly twice. there was no response. he tried again this time yelling, "luke get your ass down there with us and stop moping like a child. all of us are going through the exact same shit you are."

luke's heart dropped a little at that, but jack wasn't wrong. jack's friends were all probably dead, and the same applied for luke's. at the end of the day they both had to live with that and the fact that they'd probably never meet someone new, or at least friendly, again.

he could hear jack yell at him again muffled through the door, "luke i will bust down your door and you won't be able to hide in your room crying then."

jack and luke's history was complicated. they had never really gotten along in their history of eighteen years of brotherhood. maybe it started when jack dropped luke as a baby and held the grudge, or when luke applied for the same cashier job as jack and got the position instead. whatever it was, it kept the two on polar opposite sides of the house unless they were forced together by their mom. the two could never look into each other's eyes and say anything meaningful or nice.

luke got up reluctantly and opened his door. he said nothing to jack but followed him down to the table and sat down next to him. luke asked, "where's dad?"

"he's resting right now, we're gonna go out soon and he needs to be energized," ben informed his younger brother. luke nodded, "but isn't food energy?"

jack said, "we're runn-" but before he could finish what he had been saying his mom interrupted with, "how has your day been boys?"

they all smiled or said something along the lines of "really good mom" as part of their unspoken rule of staying positive in front of her. for the rest of their meal, they all stayed quiet slowly dismissing themselves at the end.

"luke before you go, go up into the attic would you? get that old whiteboard you used to hang up on your door and the marker for it."

he accepted the small task and left his dish in the sink for his mom to handle. the thought of the attic spooked him a bit. it was ironic that he had been scared of ghosts and spirits during a zombie apocalypse but a monster was a monster right? luke was a late bloomer in denial. 

he pulled down the folded ladder from off the ceiling and slowly climbed up it, flinching a bit when he heard a creak in the wood. two little spiders crawled past his hand almost making him faint, but a few breathing exercises helped him pull through. he finally managed to pull his full body into the attic.

his eyes searched around the room. there were boxes filled with things like old clothes and board games. he thought it might've been a good idea to bring down with him but his main focus at the moment was to get his old whiteboard he used his sophomore year of high school. he became flushed at the idea of writing "studying very hard do not enter" on the whiteboard whenever he had a romantic partner in his bedroom.

he finally found said whiteboard, and half of it still had descriptions written on the dates. he laughed at them now.

"football game on friday at 5. go support michael"  
"bowling at 3 on saturday with calum and michael"

he laughed at the descriptions until they actually brought him tears. that was all gone now, they were all gone now. originally, he was going to just wipe his eyes and move on with his day until his eyes caught his name on a piece of paper. he reached his hand to pull the paper from the small crevice and noticed how fresh the ink was.

day 184  
july 16th - luke's birthday today

he didn't know which one of the two was worse. that he was wrong and that around six months have passed or the fact that they all knew it was his birthday today except for him and didn't say a thing. in their defense, it wasn't exactly appropriate to say: "happy birthday luke! we know the world is shit and we can only give you more shit but we just wanted to remind you that you were born to live in this miserable world."

despite that little outburst of negativity, he silently wished himself a happy birthday and gave himself a little present. it was hope that they'd be a different position soon. he repeated it in his mind with no specific route in mind.


	3. i can be your friend

once he was finished and out of the attic, luke put the ladder back in it's original placement . in his left hand was the whiteboard, the one he had to deliver his mom. he cringed at the thought of his mom erasing everything on it in seconds, like it had no value. she was going to replace all the memories of a better time with darker ones. that's what made luke uneasy about actually handing it to her. erasing it made everything all too real, he just wasn't ready.

but the whiteboard had more than sentimental value, it made him curious. he wondered the way in which his friends went out. did they go out brave and strong, or were they scared and defenseless? did they think about luke sometime before or during their death? were they now mindlessly scavenging around town for human flesh?

he had begun to overflow in curiosity, and the not knowing specifically became suffocating. as each second went by, more and more questions would pile up in his mind. question after question would more than likely remain unanswered, and would stay that way at the rate that luke had been spending all his time.

but maybe they weren't dead. maybe if luke got on his knees and prayed hard enough they'd be okay. maybe they were in a safe sanctuary right now where they were sleeping warm and ate lots of food. maybe they were even planning to search for luke, or at the very least worried about where he was.

that sounded like a pipe dream.

so instead of shifting his mindset into an optimistic one, luke began to cry again. this time as he cried he held the whiteboard close to his chest, leaving no room between the object and him. he frantically let go once he realized he accidentally might've erased something. he sighed in relief when anything had barely faded because of how old the ink was.

he took his hand above the board, his fingers hovering over each drawing and word. he kept his finger the most on a smiley face that was drawn at the very bottom of the board. he remembered where it was from; his very first sleepover with calum and michael.

michael was cranky and drunk all night, which his mom did not take much liking in. calum had taken care of his drunk friend, meanwhile getting high himself. luke didn't try anything but he laughed the whole night watching his best friends embarrass themselves. luke ate so much popcorn and junk that night that he felt so bloated and ready to explode at any given moment.

they also watched a couple of horror movies which luke wasn't particularly fond of. the most cliche out of them all though was when they played a game of dares. one of which included him asking his too hot to be real front door neighbor out to lunch. the worst part of it at all, was that he rejected luke because he was "too busy." from that point on, luke always hid and ran away from him. except for when his mom would invite neighbors over for random dinners, there was no escaping him there.

remembering all that luke felt so lonely.

but more than lonely, he felt like a baby. a baby that only cried and cried all day waiting to be tended by his tired mother and father. a baby that laid in his crib all day because he couldn't do anything, and had no responsibilities or manly tasks. so day after day, he would cry and anticipate severe headaches after. if his days had structure or routine, that would be his.

but this time, clearly he hadn't been subtle enough because he received a couple of knocks on his door. he pulled his sweater sleeve down wiping his tears and fixing up his face. he pressed his cold palm to his cheeks hoping that it would make his face look less puffy. once that was done, he opened the door to a surprise.

"happy birthday luke!," ben slowly whispered. he had a small smile and in his hand was a chocolate cupcake with a lit candle stuck right in the middle. "oh is this is a bad time?," he asked when he noticed luke's stained cheeks. luke shook his head, "no no it's okay.. where did you get that? i thought?"

"i got it from the last run, i remembered it was gonna be your birthday soon," ben explained. "well i'm glad you're here ben"

that hadn't been a lie, he was really glad his brother was there. compared to his relationship with jack, the one he had with ben was an absolute dream. he was also really glad that ben was willing to wish him a happy birthday when nobody else did. luke let out a small yawn but still kept a smile on his mouth.

ben allowed himself into the room and sat on luke's bed. he patted a spot right next to him so luke could join him, "here take this cupcake. why don't you tell me why you were crying bud?"

luke did as told, sitting next to his brother. "first i'm going to blow out the candle," he said in a childlike manner. luke wished for change, that soon they'd be in a different position. he had none in mind though. ben asked, "did you make a wish?" luke nodded in response, as his mouth was too busy taking a big bite from the dessert.

he leaned his head onto ben's shoulder, "i missed my friends that's all. mom had me get her a whiteboard but it has so many things written by and about them and i just don't want to forget them.. she'll erase all of it."

ben's eyes were nothing short of warm. he was the understanding brother, and yet somehow the strongest. he took his arm and wrapped it around luke's back. "if you just tell mom that, she'll let you keep it."

luke said nothing in response. he thought about it, and he wondered if his mom would let him. she probably would as she begun to favor luke the most, but he felt bad.

"here how about this, during our run i'll look for another calendar and give it to mom instead? just tell mom you didn't find it and i'll get her one. sound good?" ben offered. luke smiled and nodded his head, again in a childlike manner. "i wasn't supposed to give you that yet," ben confessed to luke. "why?" he wondered. "mom and dad wanted me to give it to you after we came back but i don't think we're gonna be back by the end of the day."

"oh," he replied. "i don't think i should stay that long alone with just mom and me.. none of us know how to defend ourselves in case-"

"you will be okay. we'll come back as soon as we can i promise," the older brother said. he watched as his little brother, who was actually not so little but eighteen today eat the rest of the cupcake. it was a comfortable and peaceful silence.

"it tasted really good," luke commented. "good. now you should go to sleep because all that crying must make you somewhat tired, or at least try to since sugar isn't exactly a sedative.." he chuckled.

luke yawned and made his way into his sheets not caring to change into anything else. ben smiled at his brother and began to head out of the room before he stopped. "luke?," he whispered. his brother hummed in response.

"i can be your friend.. i'll always be here for you no matter what or where. friends always come back" he added after a few seconds of silence.

"please come back," luke whimpered. he couldn't stand the thought of going through this without him, especially not with jack.

"i will. take care of mom"

luke nodded and closed his eyes just like ben his closed his door. it took a couple of minutes before he heard chatter in the living room and the door close for good. his dad, jack, and ben were all out for a run and here would be luke. "protector" of his house and his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> crying at ben and luke's relationship


	4. the new world

at this point, it had been two days since his brothers and his dad went out for their run. luke comfortably slept with no responsibility or worry. for a minute he could've forgotten life was shit. brand new morning light somehow slipped past luke's windows and through the dented corners of the cardboard covering them. the light splashed onto his wall and every part of his bare skin that wasn't underneath sheets. it gave him the impression that any moment now his phone alarm would ring and he'd dress for school.

the light woke him slowly and he made a laughable attempt at opening his eyes, later squeezing them at the brightness he was unaccustomed to. the dents in the corners were relatively new, and luke suspected ben was to blame for them. they appeared only after the day they had left. whoever's fault it was was he was thankful for them because they served him as a natural and zombie friendly alarm clock.

something that he was accustomed to was his mom knocking early every morning to invite him over for breakfast. she had done it the past two mornings but not this one. it worried him a bit but he hoped he had only woke up earlier than her. however when he checked his clock, worry definitely began to brew. he found it peculiar and terrifying. his mind began to overthink and create farfetched thoughts. "did they leave me? did she go with them? what do i do now?" he did his best to shake away those thoughts out and far from him. they wouldn't leave though. it didn't sound like them and it wouldn't make sense. right?

luke had no idea how to protect himself, so to find answers he forced himself out of bed. he slipped on a gray shirt and the first pair of sweatpants he could lay his hands on. quietly, he began to tip toe his way around the house and down the stairs. it was scarily silent and if you had dropped a pin it would most likely be heard.

downstairs the kitchen was empty. although it was misogynistic to link his mom to their kitchen, it was where she most likely hung out in the morning. there was no smell of any food cooking or any food baking. just complete and utter silence.

after finding the kitchen untouched, he continued to explore through his house. he slowly pushed the door of his parents' room finally finding his mother. the door creaked loudly but she didn't move. she seemed to be deep asleep.

her face was relaxed, slowly inhaling then exhaling from her nose. luke admired the peaceful sight, she was finally getting the break she deserved. luke knew on most nights she couldn't sleep and so finally seeing the rare happen was comforting. he could only hope that she dreamt of beautiful things or relatives she would never see again. with that, he shut the door and continued to tread lightly.

he wanted to make his mother a bowl of fruit, drizzled with honey if he was lucky enough to find some in his cabinets. his mouth watered at the sound of that, but he was quickly interrupted at the sounds of screaming. he perked up at the sounds, woven with fear and terror. they were the type of noises that came out of people being viciously teared apart. 

his brothers. his dad.

his first instinct was to rush towards the door and use all his strength to pull on the wood hammered tightly for protection. the boards wouldn't budge in the slightest.

he remembered what his dad had told him. to never, under any circumstance, remove the wood. luke had no care for that rule because his family meant more than that to him. because the boards were tightly nailed in he didn't waste a second in rushing back into the kitchen. he searched underneath the sink for a toolbox his dad always kept there. he grabbed the hammer and brought it back with him to the door.

the closer he got to the door, the more he was able to decipher what was being screamed. "puddle!"

but it didn't sound like his dad or ben, and as much as he disliked jack it wasn't his voice either. it was a high pitched and feminine voice, more than anything it sounded like a child's voice.

luke became conflicted. his parents would never let somebody into the house, especially not strangers. but if it was a little kid, leaving them out there would be leaving them to die. he was at a fork in the road as time plotted against him. he had no time for a pro-and-cons list or to assess if they were trustworthy.

but when the child screamed again he had no choice.

he pressed his foot against the door and used his strength paired with the hammer to pull on the wood. in the process he caused severe damage to the actual door to the point where he could see through. he had no time to regret anything though as the door swung right open.

it was the first time luke had seen the outside world in half a year. the true sunlight was blinding. the outside smell was horrendous, barely tolerable. he brought his shirt up to cover his mouth and nose. the streets were covered in trails of blood and guts. luke was on the brim of collapsing. he knees grew weak, he sweat profusely, and his stomach churned. he was thankful he had skipped breakfast before coming out. this was his new world.

one of the sickest details of it all, was how he recognized some of them. one woman that was foaming at the mouth had beads dangling off her back. half of her hair was pulled out and she walked crookedly. another man, was covered in scratches all over his legs and arms. from an angle, luke was even able to see through his decaying shoulder. they were the couple that lived next door.

in his line of sight was a father and daughter duo surrounded by four gnarly undead corpses. the screams mixed with snarls were enough to convince luke to invite them in. "come quick!" he yelled standing from his door.

the man's eyes glimmered with hope. like luke was the rainbow after the storm. he even smiled a bit.

until he didn't. until he dropped his daughter and screamed. until he couldn't scream. luckily, his daughter was tiny and quick. she crawled through under the creatures and made her escape towards luke without looking back.

luke let her in without hesitation but stood at the door. he was frozen still, watching how the zombies devoured the father like tomorrow wasn't promised. as each day passed, luke noticed that it really wasn't. but when they began to lose interest and catch their attention in luke they began to slowly make their way towards his house.

he slammed the door shut, cursing at himself for breaking the door. he jumped to rearrange the couch in front of the door hoping it would stay put.

at the moment, his life depended on a distraction.

he turned around to develop some sort of plan, but he was met with big sad eyes. "is papa okay?" she trembled. she had mid-length brown hair and a blue shirt that was dirty and distressed. it was covered in blood that he assumed was her father's. luke had to lie, he couldn't find a way to tell a little girl her dad was dead. "he's okay... how does a juice box sound?"

the little girl accepted his offer happily. she sat on the couch like it hadn't been the only thing separating them from being dead or alive, like there weren't cannibals trying to tear them apart right now. that's what luke forgot too in all six months of hiding. he wished he could go back. he wished he had pretended not to hear a thing. he wished he had stayed in bed until his mom knocked.

he wasn't even sure that he had juice boxes but he looked for some anyways. by some miracle, he found one but it was expired. he cringed at the way-past date but figured it was juice. juice wouldn't kill anybody. he returned back to the girl with what he had found, "i hope you're a tropical mix fan."

she continued to smile. "i love tropical mix so much! thank you mister." her politeness surprised luke. "what's your name?" he asked.

she fumbled with the straw and frowned. "my papa says that i'm not supposed to tell strangers things."

luke was satisfied enough with that answer. even if her dad was, for a lack of better wording digesting in a zombie's stomach, she had a good role model. it gave luke a little bit of hope. however with the new girl in his care he was left with a few options:

a) take the girl in and protect her  
b) find the rest of her family and return her  
c) send her back outside on her own

he anticipated his family yelling at him for breaking the rules and bringing somebody in, but he hoped they would be lenient because it was a little girl. he couldn't, and didn't have the heart, to send the little girl back outside to her death.

her face was dirty and scratched up but she still looked innocent. "what's your name sir?" she asked. luke smiled a little, "how come you get to know mine and i can't know yours?"

"papa said the world will never be fair. whether half of it be alive or dead." she quoted. maybe luke needed to redact his previous statement. "my name is luke and i don't think you should focus on that.. you should focus on the good things."

she didn't really take in what he said, for she was just a child who was sipping on a juice box. "can i call you mister luke? papa said it was polite."

luke admit, the name was weird, but he didn't have much of a choice. he nodded. this seemed to have satisfied the little girl. "my name is judy. don't tell my papa"

"i'll keep your little secret. pinky promise," luke held out his pinky finger. judy linked her own pinky with his. maybe things would be alright. he hoped, he was ready for something new and something good.

"i don't want to ask for a lot mister luke.. but my tummy hurts. can i have a bandaid?" she shyly asked for. luke chuckled a little at the girl. "bandaids won't do the trick if your tummy hurts. i'll be right back with medicine okay?" she nodded in understanding.

while he searched through his medicine cabinet he came to the realization that the juice box he gave her probably caused the stomach ache. he felt guilty for that and so he brought out the brand name medicine they managed to get their hands on at the beginning of the apocalypse. he took the bottle and brought it back with judy.

"did you bring the bandaid?" judy asked again. "no silly bandaids don't work for tummy aches," luke told the girl. she frowned. "but look!"

she lifted her shirt, to show her side abdomen. luke felt sick. a pulsating bite was dripping blood down her shirt and into her shorts. he did his best to act as calm as possible, but he knew what this meant. the girl couldn't stay with him because soon she'd be no different from the creatures that teared her father apart.

he swallowed. he had to think his options and he had to think quick again. "mister luke?" she looked at him with a confused expression. "everything's okay judy. everything will be okay judy"

"i know everything will be okay. i have you to help me and my papa," she cheered. luke couldn't handle this. he had no choice. "how brave are you judy?" he asked the girl. "i'm super brave! is there a secret mission? i'll do it mister luke you saved me and my papa."

luke was on the very brim of tears. he was ready to burst right then and there but he couldn't. in jack's room was a spare loaded gun he always left in case of an emergency. luke had never used a gun before. he wasn't even sure how to use it.

he instructed the girl to wait for him as he grabbed something he needed from upstairs. judy was very obedient and waited for him quietly and patiently. he placed a belt on his waist to hold and hide the gun from judy's sight.

"we're going to head out through another window okay? there's a few bad guys at the door and we can't let them get us okay?" he softly told the child. it was easier to just not, but as he had brought it upon himself he needed to take care of it himself. the two snuck through the window. once out, luke pointed at a rusty red car that was sitting in front of his neighbors garage. "do you see that car?"

judy nodded. "we're gonna go see your papa okay?" luke assured the hopeful child. he struggled to meet her eyes, for he knew her fate before she would have the time to realize it. he wished for it to be painless. he wished for her to not realize.

everything next was white. he blocked every sound, everything that happened out. the gun kickback. the loud thump on the steering wheel. the car horn. the splatter. the pistol bouncing on the floor. his mom screaming. jack grabbing him. more gun shots. more screams.


	5. sweet serial killer

completely alone, jack and luke walked on a cracked and deserted road. jack was out of bullets and the two were completely out of food and water. the only upside to any of this was that jack had gained more hand to hand combat skills. he decided it would be necessary since gunshots would only attract more of the zombies. their little monster-lesson was useless though as they had already ran out of ammunition by the time they connected the dots.

it had been a week on the road and throughout the entirety of it jack hadn't said a word to luke. he wanted nothing to do with him, nothing to say to him. in his eyes, luke was to blame for every one of their problems right now. he was the reason they had to sleep with one eye open and without a roof. the reason why they didn't have a home. the reason they didn't have a family. luke was well aware of it too. he could've waited. he could've locked her outside just like he could've had his family with him right now. but he didn't lock her outside, and he didn't have them.

jack was mindlessly kicking rocks with the ball of his foot. his eyes followed each rock as they landed by the side of the road or got stuck in a rotting corpse. luke's eyes were wandering around the scenery. it was a forest area, filled with trees and vegetation. of course it would've been more ideal with less blood and a nicer smell but it was something refreshing. however he couldn't fully enjoy it with his recently deceased family in mind.

as he looked around, his eyes caught a moving figure. "another one," he elbowed his brother lightly. jack didn't say anything, and didn't pursue after it either due to how far away it was. he simply centered his attention back to kicking pebbles off the road.

luke kept his gaze on it though. it had white hair and a mid-length untamed beard. the clothes of the zombie looked fresh and clean so luke assumed it was a recent death. that was until it kneeled down to pick something that had fallen from it's hands. that wasn't zombie-like at all. "jack it isn't supposed to do that," he disturbed his brother once again. jack's eyes remained on his own feet. "there's no zombie rulebook or committee to report it to is there?" he sarcastically replied. his voice was rough and coarse due to how long it had been since he last talked.

"it's kneeling.. they don't do that jack," luke paused before coming to a realization, "jack it could be a person!" this caught his brother's attention as he looked up to see what luke had been talking about. sure enough there was the figure using it's fingers to pick what looked like leaves from the floor. "hey! he-" luke tried to catch it's attention before jack covered his mouth. "we don't know if they're trustable."

luke frowned. "jack we have no food or water left, we don't have the luxury of going a few more days without it.. we'll die," he tried to reason with his stubborn brother. "then we killed ourselves, nobody else." he scoffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. luke huffed angrily. "well if you're not going i will," he began to threaten his brother. jack's expression remained the same. only after a little did he look up and laugh. "listen here luke, one of these days you're going to get yourself killed. i promise you that. what happened there.. it should've been you." jack sneered. deep down inside he didn't mean it, but it felt damn good to say it. luke tried to ignore what his brother said but it hurt. "well, well we can't go another week like this jack!"

jack agreed with him. "you're right. we're not. if i, and when i, survive another week it's gonna be without you.. so yeah luke go and get yourself killed it only makes it easier for me."

luke being the petty boy he is ran away from jack and towards the man. the man was still kneeled on the floor counting his leaves. when he approached him the closest he could get, the man looked up from the floor. his mouth was slightly open to speak, but he remained silent. "hey.. i won't hurt you i promise i'm not here for any of that. do you by any chance have water i've been out-" luke was quickly interrupted by a feeling in the back of his head.

luke slowly turned around to meet a gun to his face, pointed by a kid. luke's eyes widened but he stayed still waiting for the kid to say something. he looked like he was fourteen at most. "put your hands on your head," he finally said. luke did as told, his shaking hands placed on the back of his head. the old man gave the teenager a disapproving look. "carl do you really want me to tell rick you've been waving a gun around in people's faces?"

the teenage boy, who he now knew his name was carl, argued, "but we don't know him. do you really wanna trust after what happened?"

the old man didn't respond to that question. instead he instructed him to, "just put the gun down carl." carl was hesitant about it but lowered the gun from luke's face, his finger still on the trigger. "who are you supposed to be?" he questioned. "m-my name is luke and over there is my brother jack. please is the finger on the trigger really necessary?"

carl nodded at luke's question, "it is. i'm gonna ask you three questions. you're gonna want to be honest"

luke gave the menacing teenager an understanding look and a quick nod. carl eyed the blue eyed man, "how many walkers have you killed?" when luke raised an eyebrow carl clarified. "the zombies"

luke understood now, "i haven't killed any.. jack has probably lost count." he answered honestly because not even he could keep track of jack's kill count. luke was still too traumatized and terrorized by the corpses to even get close to one. "how many people have you killed?" he asked next. that question felt personal to luke. he wasn't eager to go around telling people that he had killed a little girl in front of his family. "why do you want to-" luke began but was interrupted once again. "how many people have you killed? don't make me ask again."

luke trembled, "one. only one. jack hasn't killed anybody i don't think." the old man switched from glaring at carl to instead luke. this had caught him in surprise, as luke had a secluded aura to him. "why?" carl asked as his third question. luke's eyes began to water, he felt like such a sissy for tearing up in front of a kid with a gun and an old man. "i didn't have a choice.. s-she was gonna turn," he replied. carl said nothing in response for a bit to allow luke to gain composure. he also took this time to privately discuss it with the old man.

once luke seemed to have calmed down the two turned around. "hershel and i will let you follow us back to our community if, and only if, you hand us all your weapons," carl offered. luke said, "of course yeah we can do that." he looked back at his brother who was not as enthusiastic and on board as he was. "feel free to get yourself killed luke just don't drag me into it like you did the rest," jack said. luke's face flushed red but he persisted, "you have no ammo dude. the gun is worthless."

this time jack was the flushed one as he rolled his eyes. he wasn't fond of luke telling strangers the gun he carried proudly wasn't loaded. the whole point of it was intimidation. "fine. but the second they shoot at you i'll beat them to you and kill you myself." he reluctantly surrendered.

jack finally arrived with the three other men and handed carl his gun. carl smirked at the submission and the four continued to walk forward. "you'll like it, we have quite the place," hershel cheerfully said. none of them replied but walked in silence for the rest of the twenty minutes to the community.

as they got closer, luke saw the huge walls. they were tall and appeared sturdy. there were people placed on guard posts wearing heavy artillery. there was one woman at the opening of the gate that looked down. "carl who are they?" she said glancing at the newcomers.

"big ones jack, smaller one luke. found them on the road. haven't killed us yet," carl informed the woman. she gave the men disapproving looks. hershel stepped in, "it's okay sasha. like carl said they haven't killed us." she sighed and motioned for the gates to open.

when it did, luke and jack's mouths almost fell to the floor. the community looked like a normal neighborhood. adults walked around like normal and kids skipped happily. a little garden with fruits and flowers grew tall and green. there were also so many men and women armed and looking ready for battle. luke for the first time in a long time, felt safe. his first instinct was to hug carl but carl gave him a disgusted look so he hugged hershel.

another young woman walked up to the four. "daddy do i got a secret brother you didn't tell me about?" she said with a thick southern accent. she had brown hair and green eyes. jack had instantly grew a liking for her. luke's face grew red letting go from the hug. "uh.. sorry"

"it's alright," the woman said, "my name's maggie. you guys new?" jack was quick to respond to the attractive woman. "we are.. i'm jack and this is my.. this is luke," he rambled. maggie moved her body to face towards luke. "you jack's luke huh?" she eyed him. luke rolled his eyes at jack. "he's my brother. we're not the best of friends b-but that won't be a problem."

maggie nodded. "well jack and luke, i would give you two a tour but i've got a blueberry seedling to replant inside. carl go show 'em around," maggie commanded the teenager. she soon left to go out of the gate. "she'll be okay out there alone?" jack asked.

"she'll be more than fine on her own, killed the most walkers out of all of us," carl told them. he groaned at the fact he had to tour the two but sucked it up. "i've got a lot to do so i'm just going to show you to my dad.."

jack smirked, "aren't you like ten?" "do you really wanna say that to the person with a gun in their hand? a loaded one?"

jack's smirk fell. the area looked like it belonged to an upper-middle class community. there were solar panels taking up one side of a field, so they assumed they had working electricity. "glenn!" carl called for another man. he was somewhat-tall and attractive, luke admitted internally. said 'glenn' turned to them, "what is it?"

"have you seen my dad by any chance?" carl asked glenn. "i think he's out with michonne. don't think he's here," the man told the teen. "alright thanks."

carl looked back to face the two brothers. "how about this. choose a house of your liking there's plenty available and i'll tell my dad to swing by and introduce you. we have functioning showers" carl taunted at the end. luke chuckled at that. "welcome to alexandria," carl finished before running off to who knows where and leaving the two alone.

"future serial killer," jack joked to himself. luke laughed a little at what he had said before jack gave him a serious expression. "don't act like we're friends. i'm not staying in the same house as you. like carl said there's plenty available." luke sighed watching as jack found himself another house. luke picked at random and by luck it was empty.

luke ripped his clothes off jumping into the shower with excitement. for the first time in a long time he had a real shower, with different temperatures and soap. as the water hit his back he felt so refreshed. that was until he remembered that his family didn't get to experience this with him. luke wanted change but he wanted it with them. should've been more specific. either way it was done and luke's life was about to change drastically.


	6. bad blood

luke snored peacefully, his entire body sinking into his newly claimed couch. over his body was a fluffy and warm blanket while under his head was a white pillow that had been adjusted just right for a good sleep. for the first time in a long time, he had a dream, or at least one that hadn't been dark and tainted by the outside world. he got to see his friends in his dream, all safe and sound and with two smiles.

in michael's right hand, was calum's. in his left was the same whiteboard he had left behind in his now overtaken home. every date, doodle, and letter was rewritten in fresh ink. they came to embrace him in a hug and as they did he could smell them, feel them. it felt so real.

the dream had been more than likely a product of his hygiene being restored after more than half a year. his hair and body smelled floral, his mouth like mint, and what little of a beard he had grown on his face was shaved. his hair had definitely grown longer, but it was one of the little things he had liked from the end of the world.

his dream, however, was abruptly interrupted by four strong and loud knocks on his door. his first instinct was to jump, after a week on the road he had grown terrified. jack usually handled the zombies, but remembering that the gnarly creatures couldn't knock comforted him. a masculine voice with a thick accent spoke finally, "is this either luke or jack?"

"you've met my son carl, i'm here to apologize," the voice spoke again. luke's eyebrows arched as he propped himself onto his elbows. considering the person continued to knock, luke brought himself up to respond the door. "it's luke. and you are?" he begun to ask.

the man was around luke's height. behind him was a backdrop of a starry sky dazzled around the moon. he had beautiful blue eyes just like luke's which the dark night sky complimented. "rick. rick grimes. i'm the leader of this community. like i said you've met my son carl?" rick stuck his hand out to shake luke's. the two hands met with strength.

"how could i forget? he makes quite the impression" the two chuckled at luke's statement. rick glanced into the house and saw his pillow and blanket. "shoot i didn't wake ya did i?" he cussed. this time luke chuckled nervously, scratching his neck. "no no it's alright i needed to wake up anyways." rick looked like a man he would never want to get into a fight with. he looked like he'd been through a lot, as his eyes looked exhausted. at the same time though, his smile looked genuine.

rick's eyes slowly shifted into sorrowful ones as he begun to explain his son's behavior, "hershel told me about the gun and what happened, i'm really sorry about that. he usually isn't like that but... a few weeks ago he lost his mother and it's been tough on him."

luke's smile dropped. "he had to shoot her.. i can't imagine how destructive it must've been to kill his own mother y'know?" rick continued. luke nodded understandingly. luke empathized, "i'll never truly get how that feels but i've got a pretty damn good idea. lost my own folks a week ago too, hit jack hard." the older man replied, "and you?"

luke bit his lip at the other man's question. he sent a confused expression. "and me what?"

"how have you been handing it?" rick clarified. luke stood there for a while, momentarily looking down at his palms. "i'm getting by."

the two exchanged looks of pure sympathy before rick spoke again. "it might do you some good to come out and interact with the rest tonight.. sometimes on the road you forget you're human," he offered. luke swallowed and nodded his head. "that does sound good.. thank you rick for letting us stay," he thanked him. rick patted luke on the shoulder and headed back towards the rest.

before going out, he went back into his new bathroom for a touch-up. he fixed up misbehaving strands of hair and rinsed his mouth once more. he was anxious and willing to make the best impression he could. he had no idea who he would be reconnecting with or meeting. he needed to feel and look confident.

he hadn't even past his patio before hearing all the chatter and laughter surrounding the little fires. kids had sticks with marshmallows stabbed onto them, and adults had plates of hot food. everyone looked and acted normal. it bothered luke a bit. especially how sudden everything was. only last night he had been sleeping with an eye open and with cans around the sleeping perimeter to alert the brothers of decomposing cannibals.

but out of all the surprises, luke was most shocked at the way his brother was leaned up against a wall talking to the woman from earlier. maggie had been laughing at what he was saying, even punching his shoulder lightly a few times. luke was headed for the two before he was tapped on the shoulder. "luke?"

"carl? wh-" luke started but was interrupted. "sorry about how we started off. i didn't know that you weren't someone trying to harm us and couldn't take that chance anymore.." carl apologized. luke smiled at the smaller boy. "it's alright, at least you didn't kill me?" he winced. carl let out a small laugh. again he was interrupted by another voice as he faced carl. this time luke froze and his stomach churned.

"no way.. luke hemmings is that really you? well i could've sworn.. you've grown so tall," his too hot to be real neighbor smiled at his sight. luke's cheeks flushed red and nervously waved back at him. carl stood awkwardly watching the equally awkward interaction between the two men. "jack is like a cockroach and i'm just.. lucky?" he grinned. that was a much too obvious cue for carl to sneak out from the scene. "nice! what are you sixteen-seventeen now?" his neighbor asked sounding like an adult. technically he had been, but the question just made luke cringe.

his best efforts to smile all fell short as he showed a weird facial expression. he was totally embarrassing himself. according to luke's mental math calculations, ashton was twenty four. that was six years older than luke. "eighteen actually ashton.. few days ago," he corrected him.

ashton had a red cup in his hand which he took sips from every few minutes. it smelled alcoholic. "well won't you look at that, barely legal." luke's face only reddened. "where jack?"

luke pointed behind the little fire set up for s'mores and warmth. there stood jack and maggie still deep in conversation. "there, with a girl named maggie."

this time, ashton's expression was harder to read. it turned brighter but also angrier. he grit his teeth and tightened his hand around his drink, which luke took notice in. his ears had perked at the name yet he pretended to act uninterested. "maggie is cool." he finally said with a monotone voice and expression. if ashton hadn't look annoyed enough, he looked completely done when another man arrived.

this man was tall and had black hair and tan skin. he had a small stubble and a dark grey shirt. his hands were large and build was large. he was definitely attractive. the man eyed luke up and down, almost like a piece of meat. ashton was his second thought. "you look new." he faced towards luke.

luke tried to contain a smile but couldn't if he talked, so he just nodded shyly. ashton interrupted the moment though huffing, "spencer to what do i owe the pleasure to?"

spencer rolled his eyes and looked back at luke. "looks like you've got some company ashton. not the only one here," he teased. spencer's eyes especially roamed luke's thighs and shoulders. "nobody who concerns you," ashton sneered at him. luke would have been lying if he said that hadn't hurt. his smile broke a little and ashton only realized how terrible it sounded until after. luke held out his hand, "my name is luke."

spencer smirked at that, "you a drinker luke?" luke stammered for a moment. "oh- i just turned eighteen i don't know if that's really allowed-"

spencer took his finger and pressed it against luke's lips. luke looked into his eyes and definitely fell  
under a spell. spencer could've told him to walk into a herd of zombies and at that exact moment he would've. "shh the only cop here is rick and he won't do shit. probably killed more people than walkers."

ashton argued with him again, "rick's done more for us than you have." the two seemed to have bad blood, giving each other death glares. "i'll correct myself then, he's killed and gotten more people killed."

this had really gotten ashton riled up. luke stood in between the two awkwardly. he had no idea why the two were fighting in the midst of everything. they were both attractive adult men who had no business bickering with each other. "rick never held that knife and surely didn't bite your mom. now leave, luke doesn't want to talk to you."

luke was now obliged to respond. "ashton i appreciate it but i can speak for myself." ashton looked embarrassed as spencer encouraged luke, "exactly. let the pretty boy talk for himself." ashton looked at the two in annoyance. "fine then i can't be here." he stormed off like a little child who had been denied a candy.

"so about that drink?" spencer wrapped his hand around luke's waist. his mouth widened in adoration following spencer without thinking.


	7. get pretty for him

it had been an instant panic from the minute luke awoke. it hadn't been like he had no recollection of the events from the previous night, but more so because he did. it was clear he had abused alcohol and underestimated it's gift of confidence, as he ended up in a stranger's bed. well, not a complete stranger.

watching spencer snore beside him undressed made luke feel as though he'd been drenched in gallons of icy water. ironically though, his face heated into a deep crimson blush.

besides spencer, luke had new worries to tackle. he had to mentally prepare himself to handle all the deathly glares and his new label of 'teenage whore.' what luke was most afraid of though, was rick hearing about it and calling foul play. luke would never last a day out of these walls, especially not without jack.

luke took advantage of spencer's sleeping status to retrieve all his clothes from the floor and to slip out of the door. he dressed as quickly and as silently as one could so as to not wake the other man. silence was the only skill luke had picked up on his weeklong journey to nowhere.

when he slipped out of spencer's front door, he had almost forgotten that the majority of the world was hell. even if it had been for a few seconds, his mind was able to push away the smell of rotting corpses and gory memories to admire the sight. there were men and women working in the gardens chattering, kids playing tag without care, and teens being trained by assumed experienced warriors.

a voice calling out his name snapped luke out of his thoughts. it had been the neighbor he had reconnected with last night. "luke did you?" ashton huffed at the blonde looking pissed. his hands and clothes were covered in grime as a gun hung on his shoulder.

luke looked up shyly towards the man pretending to be naive, "did i what?"

it was obvious the older man wasn't buying his lie, and by the annoyed look on his face continuing would do no good. ashton placed both hands on his hips and said, "don't act all innocent on me," he paused, "answer my question, did you sleep with spencer?" luke felt his face heat at the question but ashton was uninterested. he took luke's silence as a response. "you did didn't you? he's not good for you luke," ashton advised.

"whether i decide to sleep with somebody or not is none of your business ashton," luke tried to lower the volume of the conversation. people passing by were giving the two of them looks. ashton didn't refrain as he continued, "i'm telling you he's no good."

"i told you that it's non-" luke began before ashton interrupted him. he grabbed luke's arm by force wearing a stern look on his face. luke tried to wiggle out of the hold but ashton was strong. his body tensed at the situation. "i know what you told me. i'm telling you to not be an idiot since i know you, and i know him."

"i don't usually give a flying fuck about the dumbasses who sleep with him, but like i said, i know you."

luke didn't mean to whimper, but the sound had slipped from his lips. ashton's veins became visible and his grip on luke wasn't loosening. he had the ability to snap luke in half if he wanted to. 

this caused ashton to come to a realization. he let go of the blonde and in attempts to comfort him he said, "you don't have to be afraid of me lu."

the other boy did not enjoy the nickname and asked ashton, "please don't call me that.." ashton's cheeks reddened with both embarrassment and anger. "you gave me a reason to be scared so unless you give me one not to be.."

"just don't," ashton grit his teeth. luke wanting to be as far away from his neighbor said, "have a good morning ashton. i'm gonna go shower now."

the other boy blocked luke's path back to his house and continued with the argument, "why? gonna clean yourself up just so he can corrupt you again? gonna get all pretty for him aren't you?" 

luke had had enough. "what the fuck is wrong with you?" he finally defended himself. "can't you see everybody is hearing us? hearing the bullshit you're saying?"

"i don't give a rat's ass who's listening as long as you hear-"

and as if he were luke's guardian angel, rick stood in between the two men pressing his hands against their chests. "what's going on here?"

ashton rolled his eyes and replied to his leader, "nothing is." rick, whom was unsatisfied with the one-sided response turned his head to meet the younger man's face. "luke?"

luke perked up to look rick in the eyes. "nothing.. i would just like to head home that's all." 

rick nodded and demanded, "you heard the man ashton, retire... and luke may i speak with you?"

luke went pale knowing what rick wanted to discuss, he was ready to hear the words. he was ready to be kicked out or scolded for sleeping with spencer. maybe rick would shame him and tell him how disappointed he was in his actions.

"luke i think it may be best for you to occupy yourself with a job here.. we could use some help tending the crops. you'd be with maggie, carl, and a few others that you'll probably get along with. if it's too early-"

luke nodded much too quickly and with too much enthusiasm. "i'd like that."

rick nodded and gave him more information about his new responsibility. luke was admittedly a little upset that he hadn't given him a job that involved courage and blood, but grateful more than anything. farming would be far more therapeutical than keeping guard or making runs. it was for the better. 

luke was beginning to find his place.


	8. who were you before?

rick insisted, more so forced, luke to take a day off for himself before beginning to work. according to the leader, luke deserved a day without something bad occurring, which was something that happened to the community often before they settled in alexandria. the last part comforted luke.

when he was finally dressed and prepared to work, he made his way towards the patch by the front gate opening. half of the patch had been grown and developed while the other was empty and ready for seeds and seedlings. there were only around four or five people tending the area. 

maggie looked up from where she had been kneeling to meet luke’s eyes, “good morning luke, it’s nice to see you join us.” a gardener sitting next to maggie perked up to face towards luke as well. they were beautiful, had long dark hair, and tan skin. “who’s this?” they asked maggie.

“sierra this is luke, he arrived here a few days ago and he’ll be working with us from now on,” maggie introduced the blonde. sierra replied with a nod. they extended their hand to meet luke’s in a handshake, “before i get friendly with you luke, i just want you to know that i don’t go by typical feminine pronouns so skip the girl, woman, she, her when you’re around me.” before luke could reply in either acceptance or disapproval, maggie placed her arm around sierra protectively and warned him, “if you can’t respect their preferences we’re gonna have some problems here. homophobes are expendable, good people are priceless.” 

luke agreed and nodded his head when given the chance, “yeah that’s cool. i’ll keep that in mind.”

the two brought luke up to speed about how to properly care for crops and plants. he wished he had brought a notebook along with him because the entire time he had just been nodding his head confusingly. maggie caught onto it and forced him to repeat everything back to her.

sierra asked, “who were you before? who was the luke before the world went to absolute shit?”

luke hummed to himself and thought about their question for a bit. “i was a boy who cared about sports and grades until there were no more to care about. thought i had the world when i didn’t have shit. you?”

“somebody who thought you could only have a good time when you’re drunk or high. didn’t realize my family meant so much until.. yeah. would’ve had a lot of good memories if i didn’t drink.”

“i almost forgot how stupid alcohol makes you,” luke began. sierra looked at him waiting for him to elaborate. “two days ago i drank and slept with somebody i don’t even know.”

sierra’s mouth widened and their eyes grew with interest, “what who?”

“spencer.”

sierra placed their hand on luke’s shoulder and exclaimed, “you did what?! you need to run from that sexy but super manipulative dick. his sex is not worth your sanity.”

“he’s reckless, it’s a shame he’s so hot. good sex is becoming scarce these days,” they then added. 

luke blushed at sierra’s final comment. he steered the conversation into a difference topic by asking them, “how did you end up here?”

“i was lucky, when everything happened i was already here. of course the leadership was different at the time like a lot of other things, but i was here. i did stay at hilltop for two weeks though. if you show a little skin or are a cute pouter they might just let you too. maggie used to run hilltop actually. too overwhelming i guess.”

luke nodded following along. “i’m assuming hilltop is another community like this?” sierra nodded, “there’s three main large communities that we know of. here in alexandria, oceanside, and hilltop.”

maggie joined the two in conversation adding, “sierra’s only half right.” she shook the excess dirt off her hands and adjusted her hat. “being leader was overwhelming but i only left because my boyf- ex advised me to. said he didn’t want me dropping on him. don’t know why i ever listened.”

“a good man named jesus runs it now. i trust him completely, but he can be too naive.”

luke attempted to give maggie a reassuring look. “no crops are worth a person,” luke said. maggie shook her head, “the future is worth one and more. it’s gonna take a lot of us and a lot of carls. that boy is our future, it’s a shame he’s had it tougher than most adults here.” luke was going to empathize with the boy before maggie interrupted.

“poor boy was forced to shoot his own mother in the forehead, i was there. even shot her lover after he tried to kill his dad multiple times. the kid has even been shot himself.”

luke was left speechless, unsure how to react to carl’s dark backstory. he’d had it tougher than luke, and he was only a young teen. “i’m sorry i didn’t know any of that.. i’ll try to talk to him.”

maggie stopped luke, “now carl’s a good boy and we can all swear on that,” she emphasized the all, “but for now i think it’s best you give him some space. most of us are actually glad you’re here as the last people carl encountered on the road are... it’s just a miracle you’re alive after the tragedies he’s endured.”

“now if you would excuse me i have some people to check up on,” maggie stood up and brushed her knees off. “see you around maggie,” luke said later followed by sierra who added a small “yeah.”

“so after this luke, what are you gonna do?” sierra placed their hand on luke’s thigh. luke blushed at the contact as sierra smiled. “by the looks of it you’ll be done soon even after all the talking and confusion.”

when luke’s only responses were two flushed cheeks sierra asked him, “what? only horny when you’re drunk?” luke playfully scoffed, “i’m perfectly capable of being sexual without any drinks.”

“something about that little glimmer in your eyes makes me wanna ask you to prove it.”

“ask me then,” luke managed to flirt back. “prove it to me luke.”

almost miraculously, lunch time struck the clock and allowed them to head to luke’s house. they were close to finishing their gardening task of the day but didn’t even bother once they were entrapped by oral sex. for all luke cared, the only task of the day he had left was giving sierra a good time while they were sober. giving them that sober memory. with his head in between their thighs, he had found his entertainment. sierra had found their scarce hot sex.


	9. rose seeds

despite their recently blossomed active sex life with each other, luke and sierra found themselves becoming good friends. they would eat, work, and hang out together while never running out of topics to discuss. luke was happy to have found sierra, as they were good company. it made his first week of settling into alexandria enjoyable. 

sierra eyed their leader from a short distance. luke noticed this and raised his eyebrow at them. "rick's kinda cute don't you think?" sierra asked luke. they took a bite of their bread and waited for luke to respond with an answer. "kind of? that's insulting, i'd let him do anything to me."

sierra gasped, "i never said that i wouldn't."

luke rolled his eyes and continued to eat the food on his platter. "if he asked to fuck you would you let him? no offense taken," sierra asked him. before he could reply, ashton sat himself in between the two at their table. "luke can we talk?" he asked then adding, "alone please."

sierra looked over at luke asking for authorization, "luke?" he nodded and quietly said, "it's alright sierra."

they slowly stood up and took their tray with them to another table. "what do you want ashton?" luke asked with an annoyed expression. ashton blushed but said, "i want to apologize to you." luke waited for him to continue, "i know you're here for something else too. if you wanted to apologize you would've already done it." ashton looked like he had been caught red-handed, and he was. he finally gave up and admitted, ".. i also want to ask you for a favor."

luke scoffed, "so you yell at me and make my sex life public to a community i just joined and think i'm gonna do something for you?" ashton's hands fell on his lap making a loud slapping sound. "look i know i'm a huge dick but please, i'm begging you," he pleaded. ashton pulled a small paper packet from his pant pocket. it was light brown and had a rose imprinted on it. "they're rose seeds.. i need you to plant and take care of them without letting maggie find out."

luke frowned, "she's with me everyday, i don't know if i'll be able to pull that off.."

feeling hope that luke would agree, ashton continued to explain the favor to luke. "i waited until now for a reason. she's gonna be going to hilltop soon for a while, you can grow them during that time."

"please luke i really need this."

luke raised an eyebrow in curiousity, "why?" ashton choked for a minute contemplating on telling him the truth. he decided to be as brief as possible. "i have to make amends," ashton sighed. "make amends?" luke repeated confusingly.

ashton huffed and began to admit, "maggie and i.. we used to date okay? i fucked everything up and did something i shouldn't have. i need another chance to prove to her that i don't just think with my dick, i hate that she thinks of me so lowly now.." luke placed his hand on ashton's shoulder and hummed as if he understood his pain and regret. he thought about it for a little and finally agreed. 

"fine, i'll grow your little flowers for maggie.. but promise me you won't fuck things up with her again, oh and you'll drop the stubbornness and anger issues," luke advised ashton. ashton nodded in both excitement and happiness. he brought the blonde in for a hug, thankful he agreed.

"thank you, thank you, thank you luke," he jumped. "you don't get how much this means to me."

luke's cheeks turned pink at ashton's tight hug. he handed the light brown paper packet to luke placing it in his hands. "i just know they'll be the prettiest, thank you so much luke."

with that, ashton left with a smile off to who knows where. sierra returned back to luke with both hands on their hips. "did you blow him off with your mind or did i miss something? that smile is so.. big it's gross," they said. "no," luke rolled his eyes, "but i did agree to be his little gardener." luke shook the packet in between two fingers to show sierra. "wants to ask maggie out."

"who would've known ashton was so sappy," sierra groaned. "makes me sick to me core," they gagged.

"you'd kill for that."

"i would."


	10. 50% food, 100% you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> if things don’t make sense now, they will soon !

"you're actually doing this for me," ashton breathed out as he watched luke kneel in dirt. luke was in the process of planting and watering the rose seeds he gave him. "why would i lie about that?" luke naively questioned. ashton raised an eyebrow, "was it just in my head that i was a total dick to you?"

luke playfully responded, "if you stop bringing it up every two seconds maybe i'll forget." 

sierra suspiciously watched the two unknowingly flirting. they analyzed their body language, "i have a feeling that you guys knew each other before all this," they asked. "did you?" ashton nodded with a smirk on his face. "actually, yeah, we did. lived on the same street even." sierra lightly slapped luke faking an expression of hurt, "why didn't you ever tell me?"

luke raised both of his hands in defense. "ashton has never come up before!" he exclaimed. "this is so disappointing luke," sierra exaggerated a loud sigh. ashton, who had been leaned against the gate wall, wore a devilish grin and taunted, "so i'm assuming this means you don't know about the time he asked me out right?" sierra's mouth widened and they pouted, "what the hell luke? are we not friends?"

luke rolled his eyes at ashton, "it was just a dare." ashton chuckled, "as if i've never heard you drooling over me with your little friends."

all of a sudden, a loud noise knocked over the main front gate. all three of them turned towards the noise in confusion. sierra cussed, "what the fuck.. do you think it's spencer?" ashton shook his head, "no, he's dumb but not that dumb." 

trucks that none of them had seen before began to ambush and drive over the knocked down wall honking loudly. the three ducked behind the short garden trying their best to stay out of sight. their bodies were covered in both grass and goosebumps as their breathing grew inconsistent. "oh god.. maggie's told me stories about how strangers have kicked them out of their own camps, i didn't think it'd happen here," sierra cried.

"don't be scared sierra, maybe it's nothing like that," ashton winced, hypocritically worrying himself.

the men in the cars exited the vehicles carrying heavy artillery in hand, ready to use. their faces were stern and unfriendly, unsettling the people of alexandria. two men in particular pointed their guns to the sky and shot in-sync. rick sprinted out of his home at the sound of gunshots, his own weapon in hand. once he realized he was incredibly outnumbered, he cursed underneath his breath.

the final man left in one car seemed to have been pleased by rick's appearance, slowly walking out. he wore a leather jacket and swung a bat wrapped in barbed wire and red goo. "cute rick," he said, "you are the rick grimes right?"

rick stood silent, frozen in place, unsure of what was appropriate to say. his face went pale as though he knew the man, even though he didn't have a clue as to who he was or what he wanted. the intruder continued, "alright i get it, i do, we can come off a little too strong at first. trust me, i'd love to arrive and offer you some cute little daisy bracelets but you'd probably just kill us like you did my poor men in their sleep."

"oh shit, i think you remember them," the intruder smirked. he turned to the garden, "but i see you grow a lot daisies here, we can always make them after."

"y'know i'm a very reasonable man rick because considering that you decided to mass murder an entire outpost of mine, i'm choosing to be the adult here.. fifty percent of what you make and find will now be saved for me and my cute little saviors because guess what assholes? you can't kill my eggs and expect mama bird to give you a worm on your way out."

rick scowled at the man who both acted and talked completely insane, "you can't force us to do anything."

"lighten up, seriously dude," the man laughed. "i don't think you seem to grasp who has the gun and who has the gardeners."

he finally introduced himself, "i'm negan, and because i really don't like your attitude i'll be taking somebody of yours home with me. i really can't decide on who though." negan said with a smug smile, "i'm joking of course i do. it's in between the blonde over there and the one-legged santa claus over there."

rick frowned, "no, no you can't take either of them." negan condescendingly asked, "seriously rick? we just went over this. who has the gun?" the leader looked down in shame. "both of you," negan yelled specifying for the men he singled out, "i want you to come up to me. i won't bite until i die."

sierra and ashton gasped in horror. sierra tried their best to keep a hold of luke's arm but he wiggled out of their hold. luke mouthed a 'sorry' as he walked cautiously towards negan. hershel met with luke in front of negan, waiting for their fates to be decided. it was gonna be one or the other.

negan placed his hand on his chin, "i don't usually swing for dick but my oh my this one's gorgeous. maybe you could even grow me some tulips back home if we took you. don't you agree rick?" when he realized rick would remain silent he continued as if everything were normal, "someone's grumpy.. however i'm not selfish. i'll take the old one, we'll treat him good as long as he's a good creepy santa claus for the kids."

luke frowned at the decision wishing they'd take him instead. he hadn't been at alexandria for long, but he'd seen enough to know how hershel was loved. hershel was the only reason he was even in alexandria right now. however, he didn't have enough time to react to that matter as his eyes caught onto two people he hadn't seen in half a year. his heart dropped and he felt sick to his stomach. the men who were supposed to be his best friends were allowing this to happen.

"we can discuss this," rick tried to negotiate. negan paused him raising his hand, "don't pretend like this isn't a killer deal, be happy we're not shooting up your little community. that's fifty perfect of your food and one hundred percent of you, well maybe not the old one."

however the blonde wasn't paying attention to the main conversation, feeling weak at the knees. he fell dramatically to the floor in humiliation and betrayal trying to meet their eyes. they purposely avoided luke's gaze. luke didn't know how to piece any part of anything together. "i know that look," a voice interrupted.

luke raised his head to perk up at negan. "who is it?" he asked. luke stayed silent. "it's rude to not reply," negan warned. "don't you think so?" negan pressed his bat by luke's torso. luke gulped and nodded his head much too quickly, "yes."

"now take that pretty finger and point."


End file.
